31st October to
7th November 2010
At the flat 3 Common Green
Strathaven Churches united in Prayer
Strathaven Prays 24/7
In the last two years Strathaven’s 24/7 prayer room has proved to be a hugely inspirational and encouraging venture. Each year over 200 people from the churches in the town have covered 168 hours of continuous prayer in the prayer rooms. In 2008 we were in the flat above Craig’s in the Common Green, and last year in Avendale’s old Manse. If you were part of the prayer chain you will remember the sense of peace and unity as all the churches worked together to pray. You will also know exactly what you’ll be in for when you join in again this year. If you haven't been part of it yet, then this is to explain what it’s all about.
The aim of 24/7 prayer is to have a week long focus on prayer in a central place in the heart of Strathaven. (That’s 168 consecutive hours). The prayer room is organised so that someone will always be there so that prayer chain will be unbroken from 8pm on 31st October until 8pm on 7th November. We hope many will come at some point in that week – day or night!
In the prayer room there are different ways of praying. Some came to the flat or Manse and prayed alone, quietly in the room of reflection, others joined with friends or in small groups, in an area set aside for this. Some prayed expressing their prayers in a written form, others as an art piece. Areas were set up to think specifically about the needs of our town and community, the World, mission, the needy, poverty or injustice.
What’s expected of me?
It can seem daunting but this is a time for you to spend with God in prayer in whatever way you find most helpful and most comfortable. You are asked to sign up for a one hour slot. You come to the prayer room, and there you find a space and a place there to pray. You may look at the displays, read something someone else has written or left for others to think about. You might read some of the Bible and use that as words as you talk to God.
What is NOT expected of you
Is that you organise a time of prayer or that you must pray with others. You may wish to do that - and that’s great, but this is for your time with God.
There is a central organising group responsible for the running of the prayer room. They make sure that the place is ‘manned’, that any materials are available, that the next person in the chain knows to turn up and so on.
Although you sign up for an hour slot you are not restricted to that - in fact one of the best things about the prayer room has been the fact that people come back at times they had not intended to be there. And so it is likely that you may find other people quietly in the prayer room at the time you have committed to be there. We expect that there will usually be two people in the rooms at any one time – but you will find a place to be alone with God.
But I’ve never prayed for an hour!
What if someone told you that praying for an hour would not only be easy, but at the end of an hour, you would say, “I could pray longer and ………I enjoyed it!” This was the experience of so many who have come in the last 2 years. Having signed up for one hour, they came back for more.
Have you never prayed for an hour? This is your chance to try it!
Our Strathaven 24/7 prayer room is part of an International Initiative to keep prayer going. For over 12 years now prayer rooms like the ones we have run have been going on all over the World, handing the prayer baton on to the next room. And in our room the baton is handed on each hour over the 168 hours of the week.
At this very moment 91 different groups of churches worldwide are in the middle of their 24/7 prayer week in 24/7 prayer rooms they have set up in their communities. Our week is the 31st October to 7th November, and we will be picking up the baton from (among others) the churches of Bournemouth, and college students in East Central University USA! And we will be praying along with the Exeter churches, Christians in Heilsarmree in Switzerland, and SCF in China.
THE DATE IS SET 31.10.10 – 07.11.10
THE TIMES ARE AVAILABLE 168 hours of them
THE LOCATION THE FLAT at 3 COMMON GREEN (Being loaned to the churches by Craig’s Newsagent)
Please will you sign up for a slot?
Each church is being asked to try and fill specific hours so that we know the room is covered. A master sheet is kept to make sure that all the hours are spoken for. However, if you can only make it at a time that is technically ‘another churches’, don’t hold back - sign up for that in any case.
And please visit the room at any time you want during the week.
Seek out the Sign Up Sheet in your church - and please visit the room at any time during the week.
ASK FOR PRAYER -
If you wish people to pray confidentially for you - there will be prayer point boxes and a prayer post box in the Common Green during the week.
In addition you may email prayer requests to hope4strathaven@live.co.uk - Please respect confidentiality in any requests.
